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Vtf^t ilofjatufe ^rail 

Its History and Course 

with Map and Illustrations 



Together with an account of Fort Massachusetts 

and of the early Turnpikes over 

Hoosac Mountain 



.^f?>8 




By William B. Browne 
north adams, mass, 



(COPYRIGHTED 1920) 



SUN PRINTING CO. PITTSFIELD. MASS 







EASTERN SLOPE QF GREY LOCK 



CU606525 



JAN 10 1921 




MOUNTAIN LAUREL— ALONG THE "SHUNPIKE" 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 



The building of the new State Highway across Hoosao 
mountain was an event which turned a great volume of travel 
through a region which had been little appreciated, and seen by 
necessarily few tourists. With this great volume of travel over 
a splendid highway, bearing a name which implies a history of 
its own, there was awakened a desire to learn what that history 
is. 

Many travelers have asked what justification thei'e is for 
supposing that there ever was an Indian trail across the moun- 
tain, and many more who knew that a trail did exist, were eager 
to know at what places they traversed the ancient path. 

In an endeavor to satisfy these inquirers, this story of the 
Trail has been written. 



THE ROADS ACROSS HOOSAC MOUNTAIN 

First, the Indian trail, a foot path. 

Second, the first rough road, made presumably by Hawley in 
1753, for horses and ox carts. 

Third, the Rice road, which was but a new way of ascending the 
eastern slope. It joined the Hawley road at the summit 
and was later called the "Shunpike." 

Fourth, the turnpike which kept along the river to near present 
Hoosac Tunnel, where it ascended the mountain emerging 
at Whitcomb Summit on the new Mohawk Trail. This was 
the stage road of Tunnel days. 

Fifth, the new Mohawk Trail. 

These roads are all in use today, with the exception of the 
Rice road, whose course may still be traced as a path. 

It may give a clearer understanding of descriptive matter to 
those not familiar with the region to say that the mountain 
bari'ier of the Hoosacs is not a single ridge, but double 
with an elevated valley between. The western crest we 
have designated as Perry's Pass. The eastern is Whicomb 
Summit. 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 



There is plenty of evidence that our first settlers found 
the wilderness crossed by numerous Indian footpaths or trails, 
which by the testimony of Indians then living, had been used by 
countless generations of their race. It was evident that the 
Indians were familiar with regions hundreds of miles away, and 
early records show that trails with but few breaks, extended 
across almost the entire width of the country. The constant 
passing over them for so long a period had worn them so well, 
that many are plainly visible today. Because of the Indian 
habit of traveling single file these trails were seldom over eighteen 
inches wide, yet they were the highways for traders, migrating 
Indians or settlers, embassies and messengers. They naturally 
follow the line of least resistance. In mountainous country they 
cross the lowest places, and many times the route used in summer 
was discarded in winter for the ice bound river or stream or for 
ways more convenient for snow shoe travel. 

So it was that the first settlers of the Deerfield Valley found 
one of these ancient trails following the river up from Deerfield, 
and the first settlers at Albany found a similar trail following the 
Hoosic from its mouth nearly to its source. Then when we 
consider the freak of nature which led these river courses to 
approach each other so nearly that there is barely five miles of 
mountain between them, we realize that here if anywhere there 
must have been one of the immemorial Indian trails. 

But although nature seemed to arrange these river courses 
so carefully, nevertheless, she placed between them a stupendous 
barrier. Here the watershed is compressed into one narrow 
breadth, which is expanded to forty miles in width in many 
places. To the northward even now it is impassable for a rail- 
road until we reach a point opposite Rutland. 

At the time of the construction of the Tunnel, it was ob- 
served that the hand of Providence had plainly marked this 
place for a tunnel, and it was also observed that it was a pity 
that the same hand hadn't pushed a finger through the barrier. 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 



The Encyclopedia Brittanica says: "The Indians were no 
exception to the rule that one of the fundamental contributions 
of a primitive people to the culture factors in the hfe of the race 
dispossessing them consists of the trails and camping places, 
waterwaj^s, and trade routes which they have known and used 
from time immemorial. The great importance of these trails 
and camps has often been emphasized. It was over these trails 
that the missionary, soldier, adventurer, trader, trapper, hunter, 
explorer and settler followed the Indian with guides or without. 

"THE ROAD FOLLOWED THE TRAIL, AND THE 
RAILWAY, THE ROAD." This was the exact story of our 
trail. The highway follows the old trail closely, and the railroad 
follows the same course from either side, making the passage of 
the watershed by tunnel directly beneath. (See Note A). 

So for centuries ran the Indian foot path up the Hoosic 
valley, across the Hoosac divide and down the Deerfield valley 
to the Connecticut. But with the advent of the white men, it 
immediately began to disappear and as settlements pushed along 
the Hoosic and Deerfield from either side, the trail was replaced 
by roads, the course across the divide being the last portion to 
be replaced. 

At the building of Fort Massachusetts we know that a 
passable road existed from there to the Hudson. A road from 
Deerfield to Charlemont was made at an even earlier period, but 
not until 1753 did a road cross the mountain barrier, the ancient 
trail thus losing the last portion of its course as a foot path. 



THE COURSE OF THE TRAIL 

(shoivn on map by arroivs) 
Having shown that there was a trail we may next consider 
where it ran. In general we may say the Mohawk Trail runs 
from the mouth of the Hoosic River to North Adams, thence to 
the Deerfield and on to the Connecticut. Popularly there is no 
limit to its extension east and west of these points. From the 
mouth of the Hoosic to Eagle Bridge it seems to be generally 
accepted that the trail laj^ along the river bank, and probably 
on both sides of the river, in the place now occupied b}^ the 
highway nearest the river bank. 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 7 

From Eagle Bridge, to what we familiarly call the Dugway 
in Pownal its course was practically the same as the existing 
roads on the northerly bank. From this point the trail followed 
along the left bank in practically the exact location of the present 
highway past Williamstown station through Blackinton and 
North Adams. 

Trails usually follow closely the first rise of land above the 
intervale flats, to escape swampy conditions. If we examine 
a relief map of this region we will see that this road follows very 
closely the first contour line of elevation all the way. At Black- 
inton the river originally ran where now stands the weave shed 
of the mill and the trail here came closely to the river bank. 

At the well known place in Braytonville, midway between 
the two highway bridges, it crossed the river where the stream is 
still shallow. From here it ran very near the course of present 
West Main Street, through Main Street and straight on up East 
Main Street to the Five Roads. It then kept on directly up the 
hill and meets the present State Road near the old East Moun- 
tain school house. 

Up to this point the course of the Indian path is known 
quite accurately. But where it crosses the watershed, its most 
interesting and last to be forsaken course, its location in many 
places, can be traced only by careful study of the topography of 
the mountain, and a consideration of Indian ways of travel. 

The new Mohawk Trail does not follow the Indian path in 
any part of the ascent of the western slope. Here, the exact line 
of the path can never be shown, because its course was changed 
to meet conditions of weather and season, and took its most 
accommodating course to the summit. It is very probable that 
a different path was used in making the descent — the same 
instinct being indicated to this day, in the numerous cross paths 
and trails which scar this slope of the mountain in all directions. 
But all led to one spot on the crest — the place of lowest elevation. 
Here the new Mohawk Trail crosses, here for all time has every 
trail and road made its course, and here has passed every traveler 
from the Red man down through the long procession of scouts, 
soldiers, and adventurers. (See Note I). The first white 
man must have crossed this spot at an early date. Since it is 



8 THE MOHAWK TRAIL 

certain that there was early communication between Deerfield 
and Albany. 

From the crest the Indian path continued in the line of the 
new Mohawk Trail until it met the head w^aters of Cold River 
whose coui-se it then followed practically the entire distance to 
its confluence with the Deerfield, in the upper reaches following 
along the western, and in the lower reaches the northern bank, 
crossing the Deerfield at the mouth of Cold River or at the Ford- 
ing Place (No. 10 on the map) which was the ford used by the 
earliest roads. All agree in the course of the Indian trail as far 
as the present bridge over Cold River, below Central Shaft. 
Many believe that the trail did not continue along the river, but 
ascended the shoulder of Whitcomb ridge, and continued on 
easterly, making its descent into Cold River valley in the line 
which was afterward followed by the first road. Judge John A. 
Aiken, who has given much study to this question, thinks that 
the first road was built on the Indian path. The exact truth 
cannot be learned, and it is largely a matter of opinion. Without 
wishing to appear arbitrary the writer for the reasons given is 
inclined to believe that the two were not identical. The first 
traveler up the Deerfield River Avhen he had reached the point 
where the mountain barrier must be crossed, would naturally 
ascend the Cold River valley which is the only break in the 
mountain wall, and where the river valley extends in exactly 
the direction he sought, and in traveling in the reverse direction, 
the natural thing would seem to be to keep on down the river 
valley, having once started in that way. This seems more 
probable and in line with what we know of trails in general and 
the ways in which they were made. The deep rocky gorge of 
Cold River does not afford an easy passage for even a path, but 
after its course had been made in the easiest places, it is readily 
seen that it was the line of least grade. 

The writer likes to think that in our time the instinct of 
the savage has been supported by our best civil engineers who 
laid the course of the new highway for a great part of its way 
down Cold River on what must have been in many places the 
exact position of the Indian path. Thus history repeats itself. 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 9 

The first road could hardly follow the line of a foot path 
through such a difficult passage. It seems more than probable 
that the first white men made a path in the line of the first road, — 
the highlands being considered more safe for travel than the 
route through the deep gorge. We may be sure that there was 
an early path in the line of the first road, and perhaps an Indian 
path to be used when more suitable according to the season, but 
it seems to the writer that the main trail of the ancient Indians 
must have led down Cold River the entire distance. 

From the Fording Place the course of the trail through 
Charlemont and Shelburne is in practically the position of the 
state highway along the river. It entered old Deerfield by the 
Albany Road, having recrossed the Deerfield, near by. 

It is thus seen that the Indian trail is much better known 
in its reaches on either side of the mountain barrier than it is in 
the crossing of it, although this was the last part to be abandoned. 
It is quite probable that had it not been for consideration of 
Whitcomb Summit as a spot for the enjoyment of the scenery 
by travelers, the new Mohawk Trail would have kept to the 
line of the Indian path even more closely, and followed Cold 
River for its entire distance. 



HISTORY OF THE TRAIL 

In reviewing the history of the Trail as related to the white 
settlers, it is necessary to keep in mind the succession of wars 
between France and England, from 1689 to 1763, there having 
been four intercolonial conflicts between the American colonists 
and the French in Canada, for the possession of a continent. 
These four conflicts were separated by periods of technical peace 
which were really periods of preparation for the succeeding war. 
Between the dates mentioned the Trail was the scene of warfare, 
intrigue and scouting, for in the time when actual warfare was 
not declared, it was always in the danger zone, where treachery 
might be expected and danger was never absent. The four wars 
alluded to were: 



10 THE MOHAWK TRAIL 

King William's War 1689-1097 

Queen Anne's War 1703-1713 

King George's War 1744-1748 

Seven Years War 1756-1763 

It must also be remembered that the Iroquois of New York 
or the Five Nations, were unfriendly toward the French, and 
friends of the English. Their enmity toward the French dated 
from that eventful day in 1609 when Champlain met them near 
Ticonderoga, and with his small force, routed them with the 
hither-to unheard-of fire arms. But for this enmity the results 
of the intercolonial warfare, and the horrors of Indian attack, 
might have been vastly different from what they actually were. 

When not in active support of the English and Dutch, these 
tribes were at least neutral. These struggles were intensified by 
the religious and racial differences of the people engaged. It 
was not until 1763 that French control of this continent became 
an idea which had to be abandoned and the vast western country 
became an English possession. 

After 1763 the colonies had become so united through 
common defense against the Indians, that it was but a few years 
more when the Trail became again the scene of hurrying bands of 
men armed this time, to secure their independence. The peaceful 
days of the Trail's history do not begin until after the Revolution. 

The first ninety years of its known history relate entirely 
to warfare of Indians with their own race. From 1690 the war- 
fare changes into one between the French and Indians and the 
English. The campaign in 1755, in which Col. Ephraim Williams 
was killed, and also the defeat of Bi'addock, occured in time of 
so called peace. 

We may now take up the study of the Trail in its historical 
relations with both Indians and whites, remembering that this 
known record is but the last few pages of a great volume, the 
remaining pages of which are forever sealed from our knowledge. 
Until the advent of the white man the Trail had been pre- 
sumably used for hunting purposes, for messengers and scouts 
and migrations — and incidentally for war. 

At the time of the settlement of the Dutch at Albany, we 
find this region owned by the Mahicans, (See Note B) who 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 11 

owned all the lands extending northward east of the Hudson. 
West of them lay the Mohawks whose lands lay along the river 
of that name. 

These two tribes were usually in a state of war in the early 
days, and upon their dispersal and consequent lessening of power 
about 1750, seem to have been about equal in strength. 

In Beauchamp's "History of the New York Iroquois," it is 
stated that the residence of the Mohawks at the place where 
they lived when discovered, had been brief. He gives a detailed 
account of the many ways in which this may be proved, and 
shows that they had previously lived in Canada. He also says 
that the great reputation which they gained as warriors, and 
which made them a terror to all who knew their name, was due to 
the fact that they were the first of the Indian tribes to receive 
firearms, which gave them the advantage over their foes. (See 
Note C). 

There is evidence that the Mohawks were enemies of the 
eastern tribes, known as the Penobscots. In 1650 they asked 
permission of the Dutch to cross their lands to attack the New 
England Indians. 

In 1662 the English complained that the Mohawks had 
attacked the Penobscots. In 1664 Mohawk ambassadors were 
killed by the Kennebecks and in 1669 three hundred New Eng- 
land Indians attacked them but were repulsed and their leader 
killed. In return the Mohawks made a raid into New England. 
In all this warfare the attacking parties crossed the mountains 
over the Hoosac Trail. Dr. Beauchamp claims that the Mohawks 
of the Five Nations did not arrive in New York until about 
1590 — from which we may understand that their raids over this 
trail were not "from time immemorial.'' What occurred before 
1590 we shall never know. 

The Indian attacks on the whites of New England after 
King Philip's War, were always under French direction. It 
seems strange in these days that in the disagreements of despots 
in Europe, savages should be employed by Christian neighbors 
to slay each other in a wilderness three thousand miles away. 
It so happened that the Pennacook Indians who inhabited 
southern Maine, New Hampshire and northeastern Massachu- 



12 THE MOHAWK TRAIL 

setts had before 1700 been driven from their lands, slowly with- 
drawing to Canada before the advent of the whites. 

Having been treacherously dealt with by the whites and 
dispossessed, they reached Canada, inflamed with a bitter 
hatred toward the New England people. About 1700 these 
exiles settled at St. Francis, where they joined the Abnaki, also 
exiles from New England and animated by similar feelings of 
revenge. They became famous as the most bitter enemies of 
the whites of New England, and with the French, were involved 
in all the raids into that region including that against Fort 
Massachusetts. 

There was also at Caughnawaga on the St. Lawrence, a 
settlement of emigrants who had come from the Oneidas and Mo- 
hawks in New York about the year 1668. They were nominally 
Christianized, and known as the Praying Indians. Since they 
spoke the Mohawk tongue, they became known as the French 
Mohawks. Altho often invited to return to their brethren, 
they refused to go, and became of great assistance to the French 
in their warfare into New England. 

The two branches of the Mohawks remained friendly with 
each other, and altho the New York Mohawks were friends of 
the whites, could rarelj^ be induced to take up arms against their 
brethren of the North. 

Thus our Trail may claim its name as derived from both 
branches of the Mohawk race, one branch using it in its raids 
against othei- Indians and the other for attacks with the French 
upon the English. 

Many times the Dutch rendered valuable assistance to the 
New England people by sending them couriers, bearing informa- 
tion which came to them through the communication of these 
two branches of the Mohawks. 

The path of the invaders was usually up the Richelieu 
River to Lake Champlain, up the lake to its southern extrem- 
ity near present Whitehall, N. Y. and then either across to the 
Hudson and onwards, or else (as was the case in the attack on 
Fort Massachusetts) overland through Cambridge to Eagle 
Bridge where they joined the Hoosac Trail. 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 13 

So as a Mohawk Trail, our Indian path really ran to Canada 
and was a part of a line of communication of perhaps greater 
antiquity than any known trail, a trail followed in after years 
during all the wars by thousands of soldiers and resulting in 
the great forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, a trail that has 
seen the turning point of much history the decisive battle of 
our American Revolution having been won on its reaches at 
Schuylerville, and Bennington battle field being within sight of 
its course. 

According to French records, twenty raids were made by 
French and Indians into New England, by the Lake Champlain 
route. Many of these reached the Connecticut River by cross 
trails, down the river valleys of the Black, Williams or West 
Rivers according to their destination, the invaders having 
reached the watershed of these streams by ascending Otter 
Creek from Lake Champlain. 

A branch of the Pennecooks had not gone to Canada, but 
had settled about 1675 at Scaticoke, on the Hoosic River near 
its mouth. 

Many attempts were made to reunite these tribes, but the 
union did not occur as a whole, altho there was frequent exchange 
of warriors between them, and the two branches were in con- 
stant communication with each other. 

In the winter of 1675-6, King Philip remained with the 
tribe at Scaticoke trying to embroil the Mohawks and others in 
his support. While here, it is safe to say that King Philip made, 
in this endeavor, more than one trip over our Trail. The gather- 
ing of his forces was at a rendezvous in what is now Manchester, 
Vt. and numbered over 2000 men, among them many of the 
Indians of the north. This great force was expected to clear the 
Connecticut Valley of all its white people, and would undoubted- 
ly have succeeded had not Philip in his zeal to arouse the Mo- 
hawks, treacherously slain several of them in a manner to cause 
it to appear a deed of the whites. (Note D). 

The treachery was exposed and Philip had to flee for his 
life across the mountains to Northfield. After another season 
of plundering he met his death at Mount Hope. 




WI.X'IKK OX THK HUO.SACS 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 15 

The history of the Trail as connected with the attack on 
Fort Massachusetts will be told in the story of that fort. The 
following is a brief account of historical facts connected with 
the Trail. 

First it was followed by couriers sent to the English by the 
friendly Dutch, giving warning of anticipated attacks. Later 
came the visit of King Philip, and his known residence on the 
Trail, his probable use of it, and supposed flight over it. 

In December 1704 two heavy hearted men, John Sheldon 
and John Wells, passed from Deerfield over the Trail on their 
way to Canada to rescue their families in captivity. Sheldon 
had lost his wife and baby in the attack on Deerfield and four 
of his children were captives, as was also Wells' mother. These 
men had received permission from the General Court to make 
this trip and to try and arrange for an exchange of prisoners. 
They seem to have recognized our Trail as part of the great trail 
to Canada, and probably made the trip in winter to take ad- 
vantage of the long level, snow covered surfaces of the frozen 
lakes as aids for quick travel on snow shoes. Miss Alice Baker, 
in her paper before the Pocumtuck Memorial Association in 
1878 says, "Three hundred miles of painful and unaccustomed 
tramping on snow shoes in mid winter, over mountain and morass 
— where the cruel savage lurked — with gun in hand and pack on 
back, now wading knee deep in some rapid stream, now in the 
teeth of the fierce north wind, toiling over the slippery surface 
of the frozen lake, — wet, lame, half famished and chilled to the 
bone, hardly daring to kindle a fire, spruce boughs for his bed, 
— eye and ear alert — up at day break and on again through storm 
and sleet, pelted by rains and blinded by whirling snow — what 
iron will and nerves of steel, sound mind in sound body, to dare 
and do what this man did." 

After all this suffering Sheldon's trip was only partially 
successful and twice more he was compelled to make the fearful 
journey. 

January 25, 1706 he left Deerfield accompanied by John 
Wells and Joseph Bradley. On April 17, 1707 he left Deerfield 
for the third and successful trip. 



16 THE .MOHAWK TRAIL 

The reader is refened to Miss Baker's address for a full 
account of his thrilling adventures. 

Until 1740 we do not seem to have any definite account of 
particular events along the Trail. We know that the Dutch 
pushed their settlements on up the Hoosic River, settling at 
Hoosick in 1688 and soon afterward reached Petersburg ap- 
propriating the best lands on the intervale, and that in con- 
sequence a fairly good road had now taken the place of the 
Indian path. The approach of the Dutch to the supposed 
boundary line of Massachusetts had become to be considered 
with uneasiness by the people of Massachusetts. 

Intercourse with the Connecticut Valley must have grown 
rapidly, and it is probable that there were few weeks which did 
not see parties crossing the crest of Hoosac mountain. 

When Pownal valley was surveyed by the proprietors in 
1760 it was found that the Dutch had taken up most of the best 
farms on the intervale, and there was considerable difficulty in 
dislodging them or making them pay for their land. Their 
residence there is perpetuated in the name of the cliffs at North 
Pownal, called Kriggers Rocks. 

The Krigger family also appeared in Williamstown later. 



FORT MASSACHUSETTS 

The story of Fort Massachusetts is so familiar that it will 
not be repeated with much detail but its association with the 
Trail calls for some account of it. 

The fort was built primarily as a frontier post on the great 
trail from Canada, over which attack might be expected on the 
western frontier. It does not seem to have been built because 
any attack had ever been made over it, rather, as we know its 
existence invited the attack which followed. 

A secondary reason for its construction was that it marked 
the western boundary of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and 
it was to stand as a warning to the approaching Dutch settlers, 
that they would not be allowed to settle beyond it. 

Other forts had been built in places where it was presumed 
that the invaders might leave the Lake and cross the mountains 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 17 

north of here, as Forts Shirley, Pelham and Dumner. Fort 
Massachusetts was built in 1745, in size about 80 by 120 feet, 
of logs cut on the spot, and joined by carpenters. Forty three 
men spent the ensuing winter in this fort. A few facts which 
appear in the records of that time show us that the trail toward 
Albany was now a fair road for the entire distance, that the 
supplies for the fort were all brought from Albany, which proves 
that no road passable for vehicles had yet been made over the 
Hoosac divide. 

We learn, that as spring opened, John Perry, one of the 
carpenters of the Fort, evidently not expecting any disturbance, 
built the first house to be erected along the line of the Trail 
between Charlemont and Pownal. 

This spot was about a mile west of the fort near the Grey- 
lock crossing into Blackinton. He was barely settled in his new 
home when the attack on the fort in August resulted in its 
destruction and in his own capture and removal to Canada. In 
June of that year, the presence of skulking savages was revealed 
by an attack on the Fort in which Elisha Nims was killed. This 
party had come down the Canada Trail and done much damage 
further down the Hoosic. 

August 16, 1746 the chaplain of the Fort, Rev. Mr. Norton 
and fifteen others, crossed Hoosac Mountain to Fort Massachu- 
setts. Finding the garrison in a sickly condition and their sup- 
plies low, fourteen men were sent back to Deerfield next day for 
assistance. At that time Vaudreuil was already in ambush near 
the Fort. At the spot where the trail crossed the river they were 
so near the returning men that they might have touched them, 
but they allowed them to continue unmolested. On the 19th the 
attack was made from the northern side, from the nearest 
projecting ledges. The attacking force of French and Indians 
numbered 900. Of the defenders two were wounded and one 
killed. On the 20th the Fort surrendered and was burned to the 
ground. For a few hours the French flag floated over the Fort, — 
perhaps the first and only time that French conquest was so 
marked, in this state. 

The return march began that night our Trail being followed 
back to present Eagle Bridge, whence the path northward to 



18 THE MOHAWK TRAIL 

Lake Champlain was taken. The captives were treated with 
much kindness the entire distance, altho as they passed down 
the Hoosic every dwelhng and barn went up in flames. The 
French report of this says: "Barns, mills, churches and tanneries, 
were destroyed and the harvest laid waste for a distance of thirty 
or forty miles." This destruction was all within present New 
York boundaries. While the captives were making their way 
along our trail westward, a large party of the attacking Indians 
at the Fort were making their way over it eastward, crossing the 
Hoosac range to the Deerfield valley. 

Five days after the attack on Fort Massachusetts they fell 
upon some Deerfield people in the meadows killing five of them 
and taking one boy captive. This band had probably expected 
to intercept the company which was to bring relief to the Fort. 
In this they were disappointed. Hurrying over the hills across 
country they again joined the main force at Crown Point and 
returned to Canada with them. This attack is since known as 
the "Bars Fight." 

The following year the Fort was rebuilt and in August of 
1748 it was again assaulted by a force of several hundred French 
and Indians. The attack failed, and the garrison suffered the 
loss of one man killed and two wounded. Ephraim Williams was 
in command on this occasion, — which was not the case in the 
attack on the first Fort. This time, the attack was from the 
south and east, instead of from the north as before. The enemy 
driven off took themselves down the trail carrying their dead 
and wounded with them. 

During the next few years Fort Massachusetts continued 
to be garrisoned by a small company, but it was finally abandoned 
about 1760, since the West Hoosick fort had become more 
convenient for those who had taken up settling lots in that 
vicinity. Many of these settlers were soldiers from Fort Mass- 
achusetts. For a few years skirmishes with the Indians con- 
tinued to be frequent in West Hoosick. 

During the building and existence of Fort Massachusetts 
there was probably no more frequent traveler over the Trail 
than Col. Ephraim Williams, who was killed in 1755 at Lake 
George. The years 1753 and 1754 were exciting ones in the 
lower Hoosic Valley. The settlers along the Trail in "Dutch 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 19 

Hoosick" or Petersburg were in continual alarm. The enemy 
was constantly seen prowling- about. 

In June 1755 a band of Indians swooped down upon the 
Trail in Charlemont, where they attacked the family of Moses 
Rice at work in the fields. Captain Rice was killed and others 
taken to Canada. (No. 11 on Map, See Page 38). 

In 1756 Captain Chapin and two others were shot and 
killed near the West Hoosick fort, and June 7 of the same year 
Benjamin King and William Meacham, scouts from Fort Mass- 
achusetts were shot and scalped by Indians near the site of 
John Perry's burned cabin. 

Not until 1763 when the idea of French conquest of this 
region was abandoned, did peace reign for a few years along the 
Trail, perhpas for the first time since white men had trodden it 
During the expeditions to Crown Point and Ticonderoga man>; 
troops passed over the Trail bearing supplies and reinforcements 
to the scene of action, notably the company under Capt. Nathan- 
iel Dwight of Belchertown and that of Capt. William Lyman of 
Northampton who marched over the Hoosac divide Sept. 27, 
1755, with 124 men. In December of that year, many of these 
men returned by the same route, to spend their winter at home. 

This seems the first recorded attempt to transport supi)lies 
in any large quantity over the Hoosacs. In 1751 new cannon, 
destined for Fort Massachusetts were shipped from Boston to 
New York, thence up the Hudson to Albany and overland to the 
fort. Very soon afterward, a road must have been constructed 
which was used in 1755. 

In these expeditions of 1755 occurred the loss of oxen which 
is known to have happened in making the steep ascent of the 
first road from Cold River valley. An old native of Charlemont, 
early in the last cr^ntury. wrote of seeing their bones when a 
youth at the foot Qf the cliffs, at thir. spot, which fact identifies 
the course of the road exactly. 

Witli the construction of this road our Trail has become 
merged into the system of roads, and as a trail disappeared 
forevei-. It would l)e interesting to know when the first horse 
was used in crossing Hoosac Mountain. Horses are not mention- 
ed in any of the early accounts of travel, and it is not probable 
that anv were us(h1 until after the first road in 1753. 




FIRST ROAD OF 1753, IN LOCK'S GRANT 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 21 



THE FIRST ROAD 

We find in the Provincial records that June 13, 1753, EHsha 
Hawley, who had been commander of Fort Massachusetts, in 
1747 (later killed at Lake George) was granted money ''for mark- 
ing out the road from the western part of the Province toward 
Albany." No other reference is found, but this seems to have 
been the date of construction of the first rude road over the 
mountain. Its need had become imperative, as proved by the 
difficulty and expense in getting supplies to the Fort. 

The first rude road naturally followed the old trail as well 
as it could. Its course up the w^estern slope was probably as 
erratic as the old Trail had been, and after crossing the crest of 
the mountain followed the course of Cold River in nearly the 
line of the present highways, to a spot below Central Shaft, 
where the edge of the plateau is broken by the first steep descent 
into the wild ravine of Cold River. A survey of Bernardston 
Grant, (See Note E) in 1765 shows the "Hoosuck Road" in 
this position, and Cold River is there termed "Money Brook." 

It is at this point that the first road turned away from the 
old trail, to seek another route to the Deerfield intervale. The 
long, rocky, steep and thickly wooded defile of the ravine, while 
passable as a trail was not possibly adapted for a road without 
tremendous effort — not until our day, could expert engineers 
with unlimited supplies of money and labor conquer the ob- 
structions of what was the natural route. So the first rude high- 
way left the Cold River basin and crept along on that tableland 
which extends eastward, between the Deerfield on the left and 
Cold River on the right, and which lies hke a spear head pointing 
toward the Charlemont flats. The old road rambles along east- 
ward on this plateau as if trying to discover a way to descend to 
the valley beneath. It pushes out to the extreme point of the 
ridge where descent must now be made. 

Here the escarpment of the river canyon is a series of 
shelving outcroppings of the mountain strata, and along the 



22 THE MOHAWK TRAIL 

slopes of these precipitous surfaces the road makes its winding 
way into Cold River valley — again meeting the Indian Path at 
its base — winding along the bases of cliffs, a perilous passage 
indeed in this short portion of its course. This was the road in 
use from 1753-1764 and was the route of the men marching to 
Lake George in 1755, according to the testimony of early Charle- 
mont settlers. 

At the junction of this road with the old Trail is situated 
the famous Indian Spring, about which numerous relics of the 
Indians have been found. 

Travelers along the new Mohawk Trail should note Todds 
Mountain which is the last peak of the ridge between Cold River 
and the Deerfield. At point No. 9 on the map will be seen a 
single pine tree of great size, on the very crest of the ridge. The 
first road ascended the steep mountain side at this point and 
reached the top at the Great Pine, continuing from there west- 
ward through Locke's Grant. The course of the Trail from the 
mouth of Cold River to the foot of this slope is very plain, and 
its course up the mountain is still marked by the trees blazed 
by Judge Aiken, these blazed trees marking the line as far as 
Locke's Grant. The Great Pine is about 500 feet above Cold 
'River and stands at the lowest spot in the escarpment along the 
river. Although exceedingly steep it was considered the best 
way to attain the plateau above along which the grade was 
easy. It will seem impossible to those who climl) this ridge, 
that wheeled carts could ever have made the ascent, — but when 
built the road was of course buttressed with logs and fallen trees, 
and made wide enough for use, — all of this material having 
disappeared long ago. 

One may easily understand why there was loss of oxen in 
making the ascents, as stated by Samuel Rice in his petition for 
a new route. 

In the development of the roads along the Hoosic River 
toward the Hudson, there are two maps which show us theii 
positions in 1755 and in 1779. The map of 1755 is from the 
Crown collection in the British Museum, and is styled "A Map 
of the Grand Pass from New York to Montreal." It shows the 
entire Hudson Valley with the chains of lakes northward to the 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 23 

St. Lawrence, and on it are shown "European Roads, and Indian 
Paths." The road from present Troy through Eagle Bridge to 
Fort Massachusetts is shown on the southern bank crossing on 
the Petersburg meadows to the northern bank, and thence in the 
position of the present highway. Norton's Redeemed Captive 
tells us the route taken on the way to Canada, by the captives 
from Fort Massachusetts, and in this trip the river was not 
crossed at all on the way to Eagle Bridge, and it would seem that 
at that date 1746, that this was the most traveled trail. This 
map also shows the trail taken by them on the way from Eagle 
Bridge to Whitehall, which ascended Owl Creek, crossed the 
Batten Kill near Greenwich and then ascended Black Creek. 
Prof. Perry thought the route lay past Lake Cossayuna, but it 
seems impossible that Norton would omit mention of this large 
lake, in his constant notations of streams and ponds. 

This map, which was drawn so soon after this time, plainly 
shows that this route was first indicated as an Indian Path and 
was afterward overlined as a European road. The line from 
Eagle Bridge to Fort Massachusetts is also overlined in the same 
manner. In the more level country toward the Hudson cross 
trails must have been numerous, and in the map referred to, a 
road now known as the Stone Road led from Hoosick to Albany 
and was without doubt the main road to Albany from this 
region from an early period. 

DeVaudreuil in writing about the attack on Fort Massachu- 
setts says that in their passage up the river they found a road 
on each side as far as Petersburg. The road on the northern bank 
we know was used to reach Bennington, and ofttimes travelers 
mistook the trail to that place for the main river route, as was 
the case with Gen. Rufus Putnam. (See Note G). 

The other map mentioned, Sauthier's Map of the Province 
of New York, in 1779 shows the roads in the same positions as 
in 1755. The entire western part of Vermont appears as part 
of New York. 

Two other interesting maps are those of Montresor in 1775 
and of Jeffries in 1774, both in the archives at Albany. They 
show the path taken by the French and Indians in many raids 
into the Connecticut River valley. In these expeditions the 



24 THE MOHAWK TRAIL 

route led up Otter Creek from Lake Champlain to the town of 
Clarendon, thence a portage of 15 miles across WalHngford 
brought them to Black River which was followed to the Connecti- 
cut. Montresor's map also shows the trail cut by the New 
Hampshire forces in their move on Canada in 1759, from Charles- 
town, N. H. across to Ticonderoga. 

In 17G3 Charles Wright stated in a petition that he had 
moved his family into a house near old Fort Massachusetts, and 
that there was no licensed tavern within sixteen miles, and as 
the road past his home was now much frequented, applied for a 
tavern license. Wright afterward settled in Pownal, and is 
buried beside the old Trail in the Dugway, near the Weeping 
Rocks where several soldiers of old Fort Massachusetts are 
buried. 



THE SECOND ROAD 

June 12, 1764, Samuel Rice of Charlemont petitioned the 
General Court as follows: "The road over Hoosuck mountains 
being at present very dangerous, several creatures having lost 
their lives thereof, your petitioner hath found a better place for 
a road, and as there is about 200 acres of Province Land near the 
Deerfield River, prays for a grant of same, he obliging himself 
to build a road up said mountain as good as the land will allow 
of." 

We know positively where this ix)ad lay because in 1771 
Joshua Locke petitioned for a grant of land on Hoosuck Mountain 
and permission to build a house "of entertainment" for travelers. 
Travel had at that time become quite frequent. 

In a recently discovered map, originally part of the survey 
of Clarksburg, is seen Locke's Grant lying along the top of the 
table land, already mentioned, a long narrow strip with its 
northern boundary the highway. (No. 8 on map). In this map, the 
road turns sharply toward the north east, and instead of coming 
down into Cold River valley it comes directly down the moun- 
tain side to the Deerfield, in a series of loops, — and emerges at a 
point almost exactly where the present bridge crosses the Deer- 
field below Hoosac Tunnel. 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 25 

It must have been a doubtful improvement over the first 
road. However it was better in that it led directly into the 
Charlemont intervale and crossed the river at a better place. 
Two maps indicate the road at this place in 1792 — as shown in 
this map. At the opening; of the turnpike road the Rice road 
was used by those who wished to avoid payments of tolls, and 
was therefore termed the "Shunpike." The Shunpike may still 
be traced on the mountain side . This wa> the road traversed by 
Benedict Arnold — who crossed Hoosac Mountain on horse back, 
May 6, 1775, on his way to Williamstown where he spent the 
night. 



THE THIRD ROAD 

In 1786 a committee was named by the General Court to 
sell unappropriated lands on Hoosac Mountain and to complete 
a good wagon road over the mountain from the west line of 
Charlemont to the east line of Adams. The road was to be built 
before 1787, with a bridge over the Deerfield at a convenient 
place. 

Just below the ford where the Rice road crossed the river, 
is the narrowest point in the stream between Hoosac tunnel 
and Charlemont, and here eventually the bridge was built. 

Unlike the second road, the new road did not ascend the 
mountain at the crossingplace, but kept along the river bank 
until it reached the point nearest the Hoosic valley where it 
made its steep ascent over the mountain precisely as later on 
the tunnel made the passage through the mountain at the same 
spot. 

This was the long used stage road. Maps in 1792 show 
this new road and also the second road, Ijoth in use. Not far 
from the new bridge was the toll house (No. 12 on map). Per- 
sons who did not wish to pay the toll charges used the "Shun- 
pike" already referi'ed to. 

In 1797 the Turnpike Association was incorporated with 
Asaph White and Jesse King and their associates as incorporators 
and continued until dissolved March 14, 1833. 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 27 

Rev. Washington Gladden has written such a vivid picture 
of a trip over Hoosac Mountain in staging days that it is here 
repeated in part. 

"The road creeps cautiously up the mountain side — much 
of the way through the forest, but often revealing the rugged 
grandeur of the hills. Now you begin to get some adequate 
idea of the depth and sinuosity of the Deerfield Gorge. 

"It would not do to call this valley a basin; the bottom is 
too small, and the sides are too high and steep. It is a cup 
rather — the drinking cup of a Titan, — embossed, as seasons 
pass, with green and gold and garnet forests, and drained of all 
but a few sparkling drops of the crystal flood with which it once 
was overbrimming. 

"On the hill across the river, the line of the Tunnel is marked 
by a narrow path cut through the forest to the signal station 
on the top. When you are exactly in the range of that line on 
the opposite hill you are exactly over the Tunnel. 'Jim' says 
that one lady on being told that the stage was at that moment 
passing over the Tunnel, ejaculated with a little scream, 'Oh, I 
thought it sounded hollow.' 

"A long pull and a strong pull of Jim's honest blacks and 
grays brings us to the top of the eastern crest of the Hoosac 
Mountain. (Whitcomb Summit.) Now look: You have but 
a few moments: make the most of them. You may travel far; 
but you will never look upon a fairer scene than that. The vision 
reaches awaj^ for miles and miles over the tops of a hundred 
hills grouped in beautiful disorder. 

"Fifty miles as the crow flies from the spot where you are 
standing, the cone of old Monadnock pierces the sky. Farther 
south, and ten miles farther away, the top of Wachusett is seen 
in a clear day, dimly outlined in the horizon. Down at your feet 
flows the deep gorge of the Deerfield, whose course you can trace 
for many miles. 

"Nothing is seen, at first view, but these rugged hills, and 
the deep ravines that divide them, — no trace or token of meadow 
or lowland; but some subtle enchantment presently attracts the 
eye to that miniature valley out of which we have climbed, 
bordered on one side by the Deerfield, and walled in on all the 



28 THE MOHAWK TRAIL 

other sides by the steepest hills. This little valley at once be- 
comes the centre of the picture: from it the eye makes many 
wide excursions over the hill tops, but it hastens back again. 
It is like a ballad in the middle of a symphony: the symphony 
is grand ; but the ballad keeps singing itself over in your memory 
at every pause. And yet that is a very tame little valley; or 
would be anywhere else. Its smooth, green fields, edged by the 
river, would never attract a glance in a level country; but shut 
in here, as it is, among these hills, — the only sign of quiet among 
all these tokens of universal force, — it is unspeakably beautiful. 
The mountains too, are grander and wilder by the contrast with 
this peaceful scene. Every artist, whether in words or colors, 
ought to look upon this landscape. It would teach him a useful 
lesson. 

''Over the crest of the mountain, westward, swiftl}^ down in- 
to the valley of Cold River, which divides the eastern from the 
western summit the stunted beeches on the left, barren of branch- 
es on the northwest side, showing how fierce the winter winds 
are, and from what quarter they come. This summit is 2110 
feet above tidewater, and the western summit is 400 feet higher. 
Over the top of the hill in the west we catch our first glimpse of 
Greylock. (Note H). 

"Beyond the lowest part of the valley, on the slope of the 
western crest, the new buildings over the central shaft (No. 6) 
of the Tunnel are seen. At this place on the 19th day of October 
1867, a horrible causualty took place. Thirteen men were at 
work in the bottom of the shaft, 583 feet from the surface, when 
the accidental explosion of a tank of gasoline which had been 
used in lighting the shaft, suddenly set the buildings over the 
shaft into a blaze. The engineer was driven from his post; the 
hoisting apparatus was disabled and inaccessible; and the 
terrible certainty was at once forced upon the minds of all who 
looked on, that the men at the bottom of the shaft were doomed. 
How soon or in what manner the men were themselves made 
aware of their awful condition, or in what way they met their 
fate, no one will ever know. Some, doubtless were killed by the 
falling timbers of the building, and by a terrible hail of steel 
drills precipitated into the shaft when the platform gave way: 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 29 

others, perhaps were suffocated by the bad air; and others, 
possibly, drowned by the rising water, after the pumps stopped 
working. The next morning, as soon as the smoking ruins could 
be cleared away, a brave miner, named Mallery, was lowered bj'' 
a rope around his body to the bottom of the shaft, and found there 
ten or fifteen feet of water, on the top of which were floating 
blackened timbers and debris from the ruins, but saw no traces 
of the men. 

"It was impossible even to rescue their bodies. The water 
was rapidly filling up the shaft; and new buildings must be 
erected, and proper machinery procured, before it could be re- 
moved. It was not till the last days of October, 1868, a full year 
after the accident, that the bottom of the shaft was reached, and 
the bodies were secured. (See Note F). 

"On this bleak, rough mountain top lies all that is in- 
habitable of the town of Florida. There are a few good grazing 
farms; but grain has a slim chance between the late and early 
frosts. The winters are long and fierce. During the Revolu- 
tionary War, a body of troops attempted to make the passage of 
this mountain in midwinter, and nearly perished with cold and 
hunger. (Note G.) Passing on the left a dilapidated old 
tavern, where none l^ut a stranger will be likely to get taken in, 
and on the right as we ascend the western crest, a smooth sur- 
face of rock, with furrows chiseled in it by primitive icebergs, 
there suddenly bursts upon us a scene whose splendor makes 
abundant compensation for the dreariness of the last three miles. 

"In the centre of the picture rises Greylock, (Note H), 
King of mountains; about him are the group of lesser kings which 
make his court. On the north Mount Adams, a spur of the Green 
Mountain Range, closes the scene. Between this and the Grey- 
lock group, the beautiful curves of the Taconic range fill the 
western horizon. From the north flows down through the 
valley that separates the mountain on which we stand, from 
Mount Adams, the north branch of the Hoosac River; from the 
south, through the village of South Adams, and the valley that 
lies between us and Greylock, comes the other branch of the 
river, right at our feet and 1500 feet below us, hes the village of 
North Adams, and here the two branches of the Hoosac unite, 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 31 

and flow on westward through the other valley that divides 
Greylock from Mount Adams. 

"Williamstown lies at the foot of the Taconic Hills, just 
behind the spur of Mt. Adams. The twin spires of little Stam- 
ford brighten the valley to the North. These three valleys with 
the village at their point of confluence and the lordly mountain 
walls that shut them in, give us a picture whose beauty will not 
be eclipsed by any scene that New England can show us. If 
it should fall to your lot. good reader, as it fell to the lot of one 
(whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell) to stand 
upon the rock that overhangs the road by which we are descend- 
ing, while the sun, hiding behind amber clouds in the west, 
touches the western slopes of the old mountain there in the centre, 
with the most delicate pink and purple hues; while the shadows 
gather in the hollows of its eastern side, and the sweet breath of 
a summer evening steals over the green meadows where the 
little river winds among its alder bushes, — if this should be your 
fehcity, you will say, and reverently too, 'It is good to be here: 
let us make tabernacles and abide; for surely there shall never 
rest upon our souls a purer benediction.' " 




NOTES 



Note A 
Hoosac Tunnel 

First proposed (for canal) 1819 

Chartered 1848 

Commenced 1851 

Headings met Nov. 27, 1874 

Completed 1875 

Total length, feet 25,031 

Depth Central Shaft, feet 1,028 

Depth of West Shaft, feet 318 

Size of Central Shaft, feet 15x27 

Size of West Shaft, feet 10x14 

Height of Eastern Summit, feet 1,429 

Height of Western Simimit, feet 1.718 

Grade, per mile 26-40 

Error in line of point of meeting 9-16 in. 

Water pumped from C. S., gals, per min. 214 

Rock excavated, tons 1,900,000 

Height, feet 20 

Width, feet 24 

Water discharged East End. gals, per min. 100 

Water discharged West End, gals, per min. 600 

Men employed 800 to 900 

Miles from Boston 136 

First train through Feb. 9, 1875 

First Freight April 5, 1875 

First Passenger Oct. 13, 1875 

Above tide at East Portal, feet 766 

Total length of brick arching 7,573 

No. of brick used in arching 20,000,000 

Cost $14,000,000 

Lives lost 192 

Note B 

Perry says in"Origins in WiUiamstown:" "When the Six Nations dwindled 
they gave over by solemn treaty to the Stockbridge Indians, who were a 
branch of the Mohegans, these hunting grounds of Washington County and 
Western Vermont. Annually passed up from southern Berkshire these 
hunting parties of the Indians through WiUiamstown into these gameful forests 
of the north, — and their rights were respected by the Whites when the lands 
were settled." In 1767, 101 land owners of southern Vermont made an 
agreement with the Stockbridge Indians, to secure their rights in twelve 
townships which they claimed. 

Note C 

Colden in his history of the Five Nations 1755, makes this statement. "I 
have been told by Old Men in New England, who remembered the time when 
the Mohawks made war on the Indians, that as soon as a single Mohawk was 
discovered in the Country, their Indians raised a cry from Hill to Hill, A 
MOHAWK, A MOHAWK, upon which they all fled like sheep before wolves 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 33 

without attempting to make the least resistance, whatever odds were on their 
side." 

This cry was raised at the attack on the Indians at Turners Falls in 
probably this same manner and produced the same effect, as the whole camp 
of Indians attacked became wild with terror and were almost exterminated 
in the turmoil which ensued. 

[Note D 

In a curious narrative of the Indian wars by Nathaniel Saltonstall, written 
at the time, 1676, there is this reference to the residence of King Philip on 
the trail. "King Philip and some of the Northern Indians being wandered 
up toward Albany, the Mohucks marched out very strong putting them to 
flight, pursuing them as far as Hoosicke River, which is about two days march 
from the east side of Hudson's River to the northeast — -which ill success they 
did not expect, having lately endeavored to make up the ancient animosities, 
did very much to daunt and discourage the Northern Indians — -." This is 
evidently the result of Philij)'s treachery before referred to. But does not this 
description give us the thought that the pursuit was very likely over our 
Indian Trail, since we know Philip appeared afterward in Northfield. The 
writer is not aware whether Philip's course on the retreat is known or not. 

Note E 

Bernardston Grant, so called, comprising a large part of present Florida, 
was a tract, bordering on East Hoosuck or Adams, of 7350 acres measuring 
900 X 1224 rods, which was given to the proprietors of the town of Bernards- 
ton, Mass., in 1765, to make up to them the loss of lands, which they suffered 
on account of the new division line between Massachusetts and New Hamp- 
shire. The southern line of this Grant is now the boundary between Florida 
and Savoy. (Outlined on the Map.) 

Note F 

The Transcript of that week says: "The total depth of the shaft to the 
bed of the railroad will be 1034 feet of which 580 feet had been dug, at the time 
of the accident. The opening at the surface was fifty feet wide, and remained 
at that width until bed rock was reached forty feet below. From that point 
the shaft measured fifteen by twenty seven feet. Platforms were built across 
the shaft at intervals of from twelve to twenty three feet, and connected by 
stairs or ladders, a space being left for the buckets used in sending excavated 
material to the surface. 

The lowest platform was seventy feet above the bottom of the shaft, 
at that time. Over the opening at the surface was a wooden building, and on 
the first landing were stored tools of all kinds, drills, hammers and chisels. 
Three hundred iron drills were precipitated down the shaft when the landing 
gave way. Thomas Mallery who made the descent the following morning was 
employed at the shaft, and had been a sailor — -he spliced the ropes in true 
sailor style, and made all the arrangements for the descent. At 4.00 A. M. 
Sunday morning he made the first descent and remained down for forty minutes 
and was drawn up in a fainting condition, he reported that there was about 
fifteen feet of water in the shaft and no sign of the lost men. Monday he again 
descended, and was soon drawn back to the surface as the air became so foul 
that nothing could be done. Mallery was a man between forty and fifty 
years of age, and this deed of extreme bravery, made him a marked man there- 
after. Exactly one year after the bodies were recovered. The papers of that 
date say the remains were readily identified. 



34 THE MOHAWK TRAIL 



Note G 



This reference to a body of soldiers being lost in mid winter on Hoosac 
Mountain, has been repeated in many places. The facts were these: In the 
Campaigns of 1757-8, Rufus Pntnam, cousin of the famous General Israel, 
and himself afterward Cieneral, was engaged in service near Lake George. 
The term of service of himself and others from New England expired January 
1, 1758, and on February 3, they planned to return to New England. Put- 
nam's Memoirs, published 1903, tell of this trip. He says: "Our plan was 
to return by way of Hoosuck — it was called 30 miles to Hoosuck Fort, a 
Stockade Fort on Hoosuck River, belonging to Massachusetts. (This from 
Hudson River.) We had perhaps two or three days allowance. On February 
4th, in passing some deserted Settlement, we left the river some considerable 
distance on the right, but unfortunately mistook a Western branch of it for 
the main river, the river was the only guide we depended on to find Fort 
Hoosuck." The next day was cold and stormy, several of the men had fro- 
zen their feet, their provisions were almost gone, and they discovered that 
they were on the wrong stream and many miles north of the Fort. From 
February 5th to 10th, they wandered across the mountains between Benning- 
ton and Wilmington, eating buds from the trees, and even their dog was eaten 
finally. They crossed the Deerfield and reached the head waters of Pelham 
Brook which they followed down to Hawks Fort in Charlemont, arriving in an 
almost exhausted and famished condition. This is undoubtedly the source of 
the tradition referred to by Dr. Gladden and others. The scene of the affair, 
was many miles north of Florida, in Woodford, Searsburg and Wilmington, 
^'ermont. There were ten men in the party. 

Note H 

Greylock. In early days known as "The Grand Hoosick" and later as 
Saddle Ball. Not imtil after 1800 was it known as Greylock. 

The earliest use of this name is supposed to be in a letter of Prof. Chester 
Dewey of Williamsiown, under date of January 12, 1819 in which he says 
"Gray-Lock the highest and southern peak, lies about 5 miles east of South 
Williamstown, etc." Those who have seen this peak when its crest is whitened 
with the first frosts or when fleecy clouds are drifting across it, are perfectly 
aware of the origin of the name, no other origin was ever given until very 
recently. The writer would be the last to try to perpetuate the new and 
ridiculous idea, that it was named from a dis.solute Indian Chief, never a 
native of this region. 

In his visit to North Adams in 1838, Nathaniel Hawthorne gives the 
local interpretation of the name, in his conversation with the stage driver who 
said "Graylock or Saddleback is quite a respectable mountain; and I suppose 
the former name has been given to it because it often has a gray cloud, or lock 
of gray mist, ujwn its head." Two weeks later in a visit to the summit of 
Hoosac Mountain he saw Greylock with a cloud on its summit, and wrote 
"Greylock is properly the name for the highest elevation." There was no 
hint of the Indian Chief tradition at that early date. Dewey's History of 
Berkshire 1829 — says the name was derived from its hoary aspect in winter. 

Note I 
Perry's Pass 

This point is interesting for many reasons. As already described, all 
roads and trails have here crossed the mountain crest. 

Here we know that we stand on the spot traversed by Indians, pioneers, 
scouts, soldiers, messengers and all travelers through the centuries. 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 35 

Here we ma}' note almost exactly the place in the hif^hway which is the 
watershed between the Hudson and Connecticut valleys. From here we see 
into three states, and within the circle of vision we may see the sites of Fort 
Massachusetts, and West Hoosick, and to the southward see Stafford Hill, 
once thickly populated, hut now deserted, whence the embattled faimers 
marched to fight at Bennington. 

A short distance north of here, Hazen ran the northern boundary line of 
Massachusetts in 1741, which line, had it been run as planned would have made 
most of North Adams and ^^'illiamstown part of Vermont. Instead of run- 
ning the line due west, it veered 1 deg. and 48 min. to the north. 

Near here is the great glacial boulder, torn from its native cliff, far away, 
and deposited here by the ice current from the north. 

Many will agree that Greylock itself is more inspiring to view from afar, 
than anything to be seen from its summit, and here the whole range is spread 
before us in its majesty, as changeable from day to day in its moods and as- 
pects as the sea. 

The view from Whitcomb summit is hardly different from what it has 
always been, while from the western crest, we see the work of man's hand on 
every side. In stage coach days a stop was always made at this point, so that 
travelers might enjoy this view, one which woidd never afterward leave their 
memory. 

Origin of the Name Hoosick 

We find this name si^elled in many ways in early maps and records, with 
all possible combinations of single and double "o" and "s," with or without a 
final "k", and with any of the vowels in the last syllable. It is odd, that at the 
present time the authorized spelling of the mountain is Hoo.sac, of the river 
Hoosic and of the town Hoosick, when a uniform spelling might be expected. 

Hoosick or Hosack, according to Ruttenber, means "place of stones" or 
"stony place." The Hoosick Patent was granted in 1688 to Maria Van 
Renssalaer and others, and the name Hoosick is mentioned by the Mohawks 
as early as 1664. 

In Kellog's survey, 1739, which is the earliest maj) of this valley the river 
is called "Hoosuck." 

In the next map 1749 made by Nathaniel Dwight the main stream past 
Fort Massachusetts is called "Lassacutaquoge" and the name Hoosuck is 
applied to the branch which we now call "Little Hoosic" in Stephentown. In 
this same map the lower course of the stream is called "Scaticook River." 
We do not find these names repeated in later maps. In the plot of Col. Wil- 
liam's Grant at Fort Massachusetts in 1751 the stream is called "Hoosuck 
River." 

The north branch of the stream toward Stamford was called by the 
Indians "Mayunsook" and the south branch in Kellog's map is called "As- 
huwilticook." 

POINTS NUMBERED ON THE MAP 

No. 1 

Timothy Dwight in 1823 mentions the interesting spot in the Dugway, 
known popularly as the "weeping rocks." He calls this rock Breccia or 
Pudding stone — It is ofttimes called Conglomerate. Travelers thrf)ugh the 
Dugway would be well repaid to examine this curious formation which re- 
.sembles a construction of cement and gravels, from which the constantly 
drippiT.i: water gives rise to its local name. 




THE GREAT PINE FROM THE NEW TRAIL 



/Cl__ T> 00\ 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 37 

No. 2 

The Sand Springs. Another interesting natuial feature, along the 
Mohawk trail is the famous warm spring known as the Sand Spring in Wil- 
liamstown, and known from the earliest times, as yielding a water curative 
for eczema. The water has a temperature throughout the year of 71 degrees 
and is not only w^arm but soft, and popular for bathing. Quantities are also 
bottled for shipment and used in the manufacture of soft drinks. 

No. 3 

The plot outlined on the map represents the 190 acri's allotcd in 1750 
to Ephraim Williams, provided that within two years he build a dam and 
mill, and keep them in repair for twenty years. In 1752 an additional ten 
acres was added provided that he kept open a way two rods wide, along the 
north boundary, toward Albany. The site of the fort w^as within these bounfls. 
For failure to keep the provisions the land reverted to the Pn)viiic(>. 

No. 4 

Travelers over the Mohawk Trail will be well repaid, to make a slight 
detour from Main Street in North Adams and visit the Natural Bridge over 
Hudson Brook. This brook w^as named doubtless from Caj^t. Seth Hudson, 
an early settler of Pownal and Williamstowai, who almost lost his life in 
pursuing a deer across this ravine. This is the largest Natural bridge east of 
the Mississippi, excepting the one in Virginia. The canyon almost 60 feet 
deep, carved through glistening white marble beneath the natural arch, is 
extremely beautiful as well as interesting geologically. 

No. 5 

No more fitting or deserving name could be given the Western crest 
than "Perry's Pass" in honor of the late Prof. Perry of Williams College who 
named many of the places in sight of this spot and was the historian of Fort 
Massachusetts and West Hoosick. 

No. 6 Central Shaft Page 28 

No. 7 

Flat Rock. In the Map of Bernardston Grant of 1765 the first road is 
called "The Hoosuck Road" and is shown as crossing a shadetl area designated 
as "Flat Rock". This point may still be found at the place called "Flat 
Rock Hill" where the road bed is largely exposed mountain rock bearing the 
wheel marks of 165 years. In the same map Cold River is called Money 
Brook. 

Not far from "Flat Rock" easterly— was the Nathan Drury farm— where 
lived that second benefactor of the Hoosic Valley in educational fields — 
Nathan Drury the founder of Drury Academy of North Adams. The original 
road passes through his farm and his grave stone may be seen in the meadow 
near his home. 

No. 8. Locke's Grant Page 24. 

No. 9. The Great P.ne Page 22. 

No. 10. The Fording Place Page 9. 



THE MOHAWK TRAIL 39 

No. 11 Moses Rice Monument 

At this point on the south side of the road will be seen the enormous 
buttonwood tree under which Moses Rice slept, when he first came to Charle- 
mont. 

In the meadow in front, he with others was attacked by the Indians, 
June 11, 1755, and mortally wounded and scalped. His grave may be seen 
directly opposite the buttonwood, on the hillside. Beside him is buried Phineas 
Arms, killed in the same attack. 

No. 12. The Toll House Page 25. 

No. 13. The Stage Road Page 25. 

No. 14. Whitcomb Summit Page 27. 



NOTES FROM FAMOUS VISITORS 

Gladden says: "People sometimes go to Lenox, or Stockbridge or Pitts- 
field, and imagine they have visited the hills of Berkshire. Now these are 
all very respectable towns, and quite worth going to see; but the supposition 
that one finds the Berkshire Hills within their borders is a very good joke 
indeed. One who has never seen the Deerfield Gorge or the Adams valley 
from Hoosac Movmtain; who has never climbed to the top of Prospect, or 
of Bald Mountain, or Mount Hopkins or Greylock; who has never invaded 
the awful stillness of that sacred place, the Hopper, such a person should 
talk modestly of Berkshire scenery." 

Hawthorne said: (Date 1838.) "A walk this forenoon up the mountain 
ridge that walls in the town toward the east. The road is cut zig-zag, the 
mountain being generally as steep as the roof of a house; yet the stage to 
Greenfield passes over this road two or three times a week. Graylock rose up 
behind me, appearing with its two summits and a long ridge between, like a 
huge monster crouching down slumbering, with its head slightly elevated. 
Graylock is properly the name for the highest elevation — Graylock had a 
cloud on his head this morning — the base of a heavy white cloud." 

Hawthorne also mentions the hill with a single gravestone on it, which 
is near the western portal of the Tunnel. Daniel Sherman who lies there, 
lived near the summit of eastern crest of Hoosac Mt. His grave is an object 
of great curiosity, to those who journey over the new Trail from the south, 
and those who visit the Tunnel. He was an eccentric person who desired to be 
buried on the highest knoll in the valley — to have his grave paved on the 
surface, and to be buried standing with hat and boots on. He was buried here 
in 1819, all the conditions being complied with, except that he lies in a horizon- 
al position. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. 

Gladden says: "People often debate whether this view from the western 
crest be not finer than that from the eastern; but with many the preference 
always rests with that which they have looked on last." 

Hawthorne says: "Williamstown appears as a white village and a steeple 
in a gradual hollow with huge mountain swells heaving up like immense 
subsiding waves, far and wide around it." 

Timothy Dwight in his Travels thus speaks of the Hoosac River: (1823) 

"At the bottom of the valley ran the Hoosac River, one of the handsomest 

streams in the world, over a fine bed of pebbles and gravel. It borders an 

almost uninterrupted succession of intervales, extremely rich, and ornament- 



40 THE MOHAWK TRAIL 

ed with the most Hvely verdure. Through these the Hoosac winds its course 
alternated with kixurious meadows and pastures, green to the waters edge, 
fringed with willows or crowned with trees. The hills on either side varied 
their distance from one half mile to two miles and were immensely beautiful 
and majestic." 

LAKE BASCOM 

Most people who view this stupendous valley, have the thought that it 
must at some time have been the bed of a lake. The supposition is correct. 
The retreating ice sheet at the close of the Glacial Age, held back an immense 
body of water in these valleys. This lake has been called Lake Bascom, in 
honor of the late beloved professor of Williams College, John Bascom. The 
level of this lake may be noted by those who stand on the western crest, bj^ 
taking notice of the terrace along the foot of Saddle Mountain, where the 
Beaman Reservoir is to be seen. The water level was along the edge of this 
terrace. A nearer spot to notice it is the so called Windsor Lake, immetliately 
at the foot of the Hoosac Mountain which was not far beneath the water 
level of that age. The terrace along the Hoosac Mountain to Adams also 
marks this level, as does the similar terrace above Coles Grove in Williamstown. 

Lake Bascom occupied the valleys of Cheshire, Adams, North Adams, 
Stamford, Williamstown, Berlin, Petersburg, Pownal and Bennington, 
leaving Mt. Anthony in Pownal an Island in its midst. Before the ice wall 
allowed it to drain westward, it had an outlet down the Berlin valley into the 
Kinderhook Creek. Note the little Clarksburg Reservoir which was on the 
shore line of Lake Bascom, and seemingly once part of it. Follow the contour 
line, marking the 1100 feet elevation, and you will follow the approximate 
shore line of Lake Bascom. 

AUTHORITIES 

Ruttenber's History of the Hudson River tribes. 

Bulletin No. 30, of the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington. 

Beauchamp's "History of the New York Iroquois." 

Bulletin No. 78 of the New York State Museum. 

Perry's "Origins in Williamstown." 

Norton's "Redeemed Captive." 

Gladden' s "Hub to the Hudson." 

"The Mohawk Trail" by Judge John Aiken in Proceedings of the Pocumtuck 
Memorial Asso. 

Maps showing early trails and roads were consulted in the State Archives at 
both Boston and Albany. 

References to legislation are found in the Journals of the Provincial Legisla- 
tures. 



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